El Lissitzky
Russian, 1890–1941
Cover for foto-auge/oeil et photo/photo-eye
INV-1994
El Lissitzky
Russian, 1890–19411929
Cover for foto-auge/oeil et photo/photo-eye
El Lissitzky Russian, 1890–1941 →avant-gardephotographyphotograph
Date
1929
Medium
Letterpress
Dimensions
29.5 × 20.7 cm (11 5/8 × 8 3/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Director's Fund
Through double exposure, Lissitzky blended his likeness with images of drafting tools and graph paper—juxtaposing mechanical instruments with his own more “primitive” tool, the hand. In its day Constructor symbolized a fundamental redefinition of the artist as someone who does not create, but builds, and thereby spurs the transformation of society. Yet Lissitzky seemed to acknowledge that the artist-engineer deploys commercial or industrial technology (including the camera apparatus) over which he can at best have partial control.
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